Caught by Emma Louise

Chapter Eighteen

"What the hell did that poor keyboard do to you?" Looking up from the keyboard I'm currently pounding my fingers into, I see Lee standing in front of the reception desk.

"Hey. What are you doing here?" I paste a smile on my face, even though I'm tired as hell and cranky to boot.

"I dropped the girls off at school and had to run errands nearby, so I thought I'd bring you a coffee and see if you could take a break?"

Even if there was an issue with me taking one, I do it anyway, hoping it will piss Max off. Petty? Yes, but he deserves it in my opinion.

"Come on; let’s go sit in the break room."

"This place is pretty cool," she says, looking around the office. "I need to talk to Jackson about our place; it could do with a makeover." Natalie works for another security firm, Cole Security. Much like the setup here, Cole Security is operated by a group of former military men. Natalie's ex-husband, Aaron, Aarabelle's father, was part of the company until some shit went down. There was a time when he had been assumed dead, and the guys rallied around Lee, making sure she was taken care of.

I've only met Jackson and his wife Catherine once before at Aara's last birthday party, but they seem like great people.

"Hmm," is my only response.

"Uh-oh. That doesn't sound good," she says as we sit on the couch, each with a coffee in hand.

"How can ‘hmm’ sound bad? Or good for that matter."

"Don't try to brush me off. What's going on with you?"

"Nothing, why do you ask?"

"Let me see." She taps a finger against her chin like she's actually deep in thought. "You're living with your boss, the one that you think is hot as fuck, and since you moved in, you've been avoiding me. I think that's enough for now, don't you?"

"I do not think he's hot!" I return on a hushed whisper. Looking around, I pray like hell that nobody is around to hear this. She raises an eyebrow and gives me a totally unimpressed look.

"Fine!" I huff. "He's nice to look at, but that's it. The guy is an asshole."

"Why? What has he done now?" she asks, dropping the teasing tone, concern now heavy in her voice. For the next thirty minutes she sits and listens as I tell her all about Max and his hot and cold behavior. I tell her how we made a deal to be civil, how he helped me when I couldn't even wash my hair, how that night went to shit when he pushed me to open up and how he's been avoiding me ever since.

I don't tell her that for a moment in time I thought Max and I were sharing a connection. That I let my stupid mind wander to what it would be like to be with him. That seeing him holding Cass like it's the most natural thing ever gave me a sick sense of hope. I don't tell her that for the first time in as long as I can think of, I was opening my mind and heart to the possibility of letting a man in. I don't tell her that watching him with Cass, even just those few times they interacted, made me want to give her something I've never been able to. A solid, dependable man in her life.

"You know you can come stay with us, right? If it gets to be too much being there with him."

"I love you for offering, and if Liam was home more, I'd consider it, but not while he's away. The cops still haven't ruled out that I was targeted directly, and if I stay with you and something happens there because of me, I'll never forgive myself."

"I'm not sure staying with Max is good for you."

"Oh, I know it isn't good for me. I'm looking for a new apartment already.” Lee’s eyes round. “I'll make sure it's as safe as possible," I add when it looks like she's going to argue with me.

"I'll ask the guys to come sort some alarms for you when you find a place."

"I won’t argue with that," I concede, knowing it will make her feel better if I just agree. I already know that Felix will probably take care of all that, but I don’t mention that right now.

"I think you and Max need to talk, clear the air."

"I've tried, Lee. He isn’t interested. I called him last night, for the first time since he gave me his number. I called to see if he was going to come home, so I could apologize for losing my temper with him that night."

"And what happened?"

"Some woman answered his phone. And he didn't come home last night."

"Oh, Darcey," she says sympathetically. "You really like him, huh?"

"I don't even know him," I scoff, trying to brush her comments off.

"Darce..." she trails off, looking at me as if I'm stupid.

"Seriously, Lee. I think deep down he's a decent guy, he's looked after us and all, but the last thing I need in my life is a man. Especially one as complicated as him."

"You're probably right," she says begrudgingly.

"I usually am," I joke, breaking the heavy moment.

"Liam says he's a good guy. One of the best." She repeats the same thing that Felix told me last night. "He told me that he's had a lot of shit happen to him, but he says there aren't many he'd trust as much as Max." I have no problem believing that. I've seen first-hand how true that is. I'd love to ask her exactly what Liam has told her, what dark past he has, but I know how I'd feel if he went digging around about me, so I refrain from asking.

The door to the break room opens before I can change the subject to something that doesn't involve my miserable, non-existent love life. My stomach drops, only to level out when I realize it isn't Max. "Ahh, it's like my dreams have come true. Two gorgeous women here just for me," Felix says.

"You're a pig; you know that, right?" I laugh as he comes in and kisses me on the cheek.

"Yep. I know," he says, giving a cocky wink as he leans down to kiss Lee too.

We stay and chat for a while longer, and I realize it's exactly what I needed. Spending time with friends is still a foreign concept for me. I have to learn that I'm not as alone as I think I am. Max and I might never have anything more than a passing acquaintance. If I'm honest with myself, I'd be open to seeing if there could be more between us. I've never been attracted to someone quite the way I am to him. He has a magnetism that I can't fight against, but he simply doesn't feel the same. The fact that the first man I might have been interested in doesn't feel the same stings slightly, but I've been through worse.

By the time Natalie leaves and Felix goes back to work, I'm feeling less stressed than I was earlier, and the rest of the morning passes by uneventfully. I manage to lose myself in schedules and invoices, and for once I'm grateful to work with a bunch of completely unorganized men. Their laziness is a blessing for me. I can't think too much about Max and how cutting his indifference is while I'm trying to work out what Gavin's scrawled notes actually mean.

I'm finally able to see the top of my desk, the files all in order and ready to be put away. I'm down to the last few, and then I'm planning to leave for the day; everything else on my to-do list can be done from home. I might be feeling fine physically, but mentally, I'm not sure how I'm doing since the attack. All I know is I feel safer when I'm behind the locked door of Max's house. I'm lucky that Crew is fine with me not being in the office all day every day. I have my bag packed and over my shoulder, ready for today's designated driver, Gavin, to drive me home. Five minutes later, he still isn’t here. I bet he's caught up in something in the control room and forgot all about me; the man has a laser-like focus when it comes to work. Dumping my stuff on my desk, I go looking for him.

Someone saying my name catches my attention as I pass down the hallway. I really should learn that eavesdropping on others' conversations doesn't usually end well for me. But I'm obviously a glutton for punishment because instead of minding my own business, I creep closer to the door that's been left slightly ajar. It's Crew's office, but the voice is coming from Max.

"You said you checked her out."

"I did." Judging by the clicking of the keyboard and the uninterested tone, I'd guess Crew isn’t paying much attention to what's being said.

"You checked her out and found nothing? Nothing at all. Not so much as a speeding ticket?"

"What does it matter to you?"

"What does it matter?"

"That’s what I asked," Crew says, sounding fed up of repeating himself.

"It matters, Crew, because our clients judge us on more than just the work we do. They work with us because of the reputation we've built."

"And?"

"And how would it look if they found out there was something in her past that we don't know about? She's keeping secrets, and I don't like it."

"Why are you pushing this? So hard?"

"Because I don't like her. She's everywhere I fucking turn lately, and I've had enough of it." His immediate response is like a knife to my chest. Twisting and leaving behind a gaping mess. White hot shame fills me, so I do the one thing I've always been good at.

I ran away.